News

Northwestern Law and ROSS Intelligence Partner to Address Access-to-Justice through AI

November 01, 2017

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is proud to announce a new partnership with ROSS Intelligence, the leading provider of artificial intelligence-based research tools. The partnership is focused on teaching Northwestern Law students how legal technology can facilitate the provision of legal services and address widespread access-to-justice issues. In addition to leveraging the technology in Northwestern Law courses and library research, students will gain hands-on experience applying ROSS Intelligence and other technologies to the legal practice through internships with legal services organizations. Partners including Illinois Legal Aid Online and Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois are excited to help identify opportunities for students to leverage legal tech, such as ROSS, to address access-to-justice concerns, through a Northwestern Law public interest fellowship.

“Our students must be comfortable and familiar with how technology works. They don’t have to know how to code, but they must be able to quickly learn new technology, navigate and assess technology for its intended use in legal services, and identify opportunities for technology to address related issues. Partnering with ROSS Intelligence will expose our students to one of the most cutting-edge innovations in legal practice, and also provide them the opportunity to work with ROSS and other legal tech platforms to enhance access-to-justice in our community,” said Dean Rodriguez.

Northwestern Law has long recognized the impact of technology on the practice of law and has embarked on a series of curricular and programming initiatives designed to prepare its students for the future of the profession. These include a law school education innovation incubator, the Center for Practice Engagement and Innovation, as well as new concentrations and degrees. The Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Concentration is designed to expose JD students to the issues that drive the innovation process, while the Master of Science in Law degree provides practical, business-centered legal training to STEM professionals.

Northwestern Law and ROSS share a joint commitment to preparing students for the realities of a changing legal marketplace, specifically the influence of technology on the profession.

“Our mission since the earliest days at ROSS Intelligence has been to use technology to democratize the law. In a country where 80% of individuals who need access to legal resources cannot afford them, bridging the access to justice gap is more important than ever, which is why we’re so excited to announce this partnership with Northwestern Law. Tomorrow’s generation of lawyers is being trained today, and by ensuring they are exposed from day 1 to the benefits of legal technology in theory but also in practice, we’ll help create a wiser, more entrepreneurial and more compassionate generation of lawyers.” said Arruda.